What's happening at Taishan? feat. Mark Nelson

The Taishan nuclear plant in the Guangdong province of China
houses two French-built EPR reactors, the first of their kind in
the country. For the past couple of weeks, equipment has
registered slightly elevated radiation readings inside and
directly outside the plant. The cause so far appears to be leaks
from one or more fuel rods. Mark Nelson joins me in this brief
episode to reflect on this breaking story; its coverage in the
media; the phenomenon of fuel rod leaks; issues with
first-of-a-kind reactors; the knowns, unknowns, and clues of this
particular incident; and the issues of policy on background
radiation limits. Despite media coverage claiming the leak is a
disaster in the making, the minor fuel-rod leak is unlikely to
cause any direct harm to people or the environment. At the
current leak rate, if left unattended for two years the elevated
radiation at the detection point near the plant would hardly
amount to a quarter of someone's yearly background radiation dose
here in Ontario.


In this episode, Mark lays out possible paths along which this
story could develop. We still do not know exactly how extensive
the fuel rod leaks at the reactor are—whether it is a one-off or
a systematic issue with the EPR design. However, Mark argues that
the lack of a reactor shutdown to prevent expensive potential
damage is a clue that the leak is just that, and not a cover for
more concerning reactor damage. In Mark's words, the incident
constitutes "bad industrial hygiene," but certainly not a
"nuclear accident." Still, the leak could lead to political
pressure on China, perhaps to implement a "zero leaker" policy
similar to the United States.


Mark's Twitter thread on Taishan can be read here:
https://twitter.com/energybants/status/1404476721076781060?s=20